£1,001+ PCs chart: Evesham Axis R6 XT

After fasting for several years on the trot, Intel has recently been gobbling up as many processor performance awards as it can. For anyone hoping that AMD could start doing more than cleaning up the crumbs, the disappointing performance of this Evesham Axis R6 XT's Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor might give pause for thought.

Monitor: You'd think all of the flat-panels found in this category would be of superior quality. But you'd be miserably mistaken. No chart offers such a range of flat-panel shapes and sizes. A 22in model may sound nice, but be very careful that you choose a good one. Many of today's 22in flat-panels suffer from poor colours and fuzzy images and, depending on how sensitive you are, this might cause more than a few problems. 20in screens are safer bets, if you don't mind inferior resolution support. 19in models are becoming more outdated, although you might get better image quality if you don't mind going to this size.

Graphics card: At this price point, you should be able to get something rather startling. The GeForce 8800 GTX is undoubtedly the most prized acquisition. Its support for DirectX 10 means that Vistaites can look forwards to some impressive games titles coming out in the future. The GTX also has bags of performance and a slew of sizzling features. However, you shouldn't overlook its slightly less exciting sibling, the 8800 GTS, nor the brand new ATI HD 2900 XT. The latter card can't keep up with the GTX, but it will eclipse even the 640MB version of the 8800 GTS.

Sound card and speakers: Onboard or integrated sound has come on in leaps and bounds with support for 7.1 channel sound but it's still no match for a decent soundcard. Hunt around and you should be able to get a PC with a Creative Audigy card or, better still, one from the excellent X-Fi range. If you only want 2.1 channel speakers then make sure they're high quality but most manufacturers are bundling 5.1 channel speakers. Strangely, 7.1 speakers are becoming less and less common, but if you want audio excellence then you'd be best off holding out for a set of these.

Aside from the AMD processor and onboard sound (and, if you're quibbling, the slightly miserly 320GB hard drive), this is actually a rather good (and very affordable) PC. Unfortunately, in another close and competitive month, those shortcomings are enough to leave the Evesham lying in the gutter and gazing at the £1,001+ stars.

The Arbico may have slipped to second but, in truth, it was an extremely close call. Given the extra quality of the Samsung flat-panel, we rate the CyberPower as a fantastic overall deal with no weak areas whatsoever.

The Mesh Elite E6700 GTS PCA sees Mesh returning to more predictable territory - with some very pleasing results. In fact, as an overall exhibition of features and components, the Elite E6700 puts on quite a show.